Air conditioning apparatus



p 1957 s. A. B. HAMILTON 2,805,559

' AIR CONDITIONING APPARAT IS Filed Jan. 14, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet l F/g. I.

mmvroa BY Z4 )4TTOR'NEY Sept. 10, 1957 s. A. B. HAMILTON 2,305,559

AIR counrrxonmc APPARATUS Filed Jan. 14, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I N VEN TOR.

- AT-roEA/EY P 7 s. A. B. HAMILTON 2,805,559

AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 14, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ma ma INVENTOR.

Ar-rozuey Patented Sept. 10, 1957 AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS Samuel A. B. Hamilton, Fort Worth, Tex.

Application January 14, 1954, Serial No. 404,055

4 Claims. (Cl. 62-139) This invention relates to air conditioning apparatus, and it has particular reference to a mechanism adapted to be installed in a window, or other opening, in a building, for transmitting the outside air to the interior of the building after processing the air to attain therefor the desired temperature and humidity, and the principal object of the invention resides in the provision of a novel and economical device by which atmospheric air can be subjected to cooling by evaporation processes without impregnation by moisture as would occur by the use of conventional equipment for a similar purpose.

An object of the invention is that of providing apparatus by which atmospheric air is impelled through a series of air conduits in contact with a cooling liquid sprayed thereover or surrounding the conduits whereby the air is never brought into direct contact with the cool ing agent and therefore possesses only a normal moisture content which is removed or minimized by a refrigerated element in the path of the air entering the build- Another object of the invention resides in the provision of apparatus by which conditioned air can be conducted to various sections of a building through conduits requiring no conventional type of insulation but providing its own insulating medium by the use of the moisture impregnated air employed to cool the atmospheric air inducted through the apparatus and expelled into the room or building in which the invention is installed.

7 Still another object of the invention is that of providing a structure in which the temperature transfer prin ciple is embodied, that is, by conducting the atmospheric air through a series of conduits whose outer surfaces are contacted by cooled or heated liquids by which the temperatures of the air are changed as desired to cool or heat the atmosphere interiorly of the building while excluding the moisture laden air used for evaporating the cooling or heating liquids brought into contact with the conduits.

The invention has for a prime object the provision of apparatus which embodies the principle of air cooling by evaporation in the use of evaporative pads through which the cooling agent is passed but which air, instead of being conducted into the building, is discharged into the attic above the room ceilings to provide insulation against the v unprocessed outside air thus minimizing the load and materially increasing the efliciency of the machine in the manner of producing a relatively dry cooledair possessing a moisture content best suited to the particular requirements and in accordance with the relative ambient humidity of the outside atmosphere.

Yet another object of the invention resides in the provision of apparatus of the character described which is sufliciently compact to be installed in automobiles and in which the outside air is conducted through conduits immersed in a refrigerating solution by which the temperature of the air is reduced.

Broadly, the invention contemplates the provision of an evaporative type of air cooling apparatus by which the moisture laden air used as a cooling agent is excluded from the area to be cooled and by which the processed air can be wholly or partially divested of its moisturecontent to insure the desired atmospheric humidity.

While the foregoing objects are paramount, other and lesser objects will become manifest as the description proceeds, taken in connection with the appended drawings wherein:

Figure l is a perspective illustration of one embodi ment of the invention as installed in a window.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of the invention, on lines 22 of Figure 3, illustrating the air conduits and inlet and outlet air ducts in the housing, and indicating, by arrows, the air flow through the device.

Figure 3 is a rear sectional view of the invention, on lines 33 of Figure 2, showing the arrangement of air conduits and the manifold outlet duct.

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view through one of the series of manifold air conduits, on line 44 of Figure 5, showing the foraminous casing therefor.

Figure 5 fragmentan'ly illustrates, in elevation, one of the grill type air conduit units having a foraminous casmg.

Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view through one of the arms of the rotary water sprinkler device shown in Figure 10.

Figure 7 is a perspective illustration of another embodiment of the invention as a duct unit for distributing air through ducts to remote sections of a building.

Figure 8 is a vertical sectional view of the invention, on lines 88 of Figure 9, showing the arrangement of air conduits and the coaxial discharge ducts.

Figure 9 is a sectional view on lines 99 of Figure 8 illustrating the air conduits and the coaxial duct arrangement from the rear of the invention.

Figure 10 is a plan view of the rotary water distributor operating above the air conduits the water supply tube being shown in transverse section.

Figure 11 is a perspective view of an automotive unit embodying the invention showing inlet and outlet ducts.

Figure 12 is a lateral cross-sectional View on lines 1212 of Figure 13, showing the air conduits and refrigerating coils in plan.

Figure 13 is a vertical sectional view on lines 13-43 of Figure 14 illustrating the arrangement of air conduits, inlet and outlet ducts, and the refrigerating coils for cooling the liquid. 7

Figure 14 is a vertical sectional view on lines 1414 of Figure 12 showing the dual arrangement of fans, the :air conduits and coil, and a compressor unit for said coil.

Accordingly, the invention comprises a housing 10 in the bottom of which is a reservoir 11 containing water, as shown in Figures 2, 3, 8 and 9. In the lower portions of the side and rear Walls 12 and 13 are louvered slots 14 through which air is admitted to the housing 10, as indicated by arrows. The housing 10 has a transverse partition 15 in its upper portion defining an upper chamber 16 and a larger lower chamber 17, and in the latter chamher is arranged a series of vertically disposed grills 18;, each formed by a vertical tubular inlet conduit 19 and an outlet conduit 20 connected by a plurality of horizontal vertically spaced tubes 21 of lesser diameter than the conduits l9 and 20.

The inlet conduits 19 are collectivelyconnected to an air inlet duct 22 in a manifold arrangement, the latter being located above the partition 15 which has anopening therein for the upper end of each of the inlet conduits 19, as shownin Figures 2 and 8, the lower ends of the conduits 19 extending into the reservoir 11 in the bottom of the housing 10, as do the lower ends of the conduits 20. The inlet duct 22 opens into the front of the housing 10.

The outlet conduits 20 have their upper ends connected into a horizontal tube 23 into which is connected one or more outlet tubes 24 which communicate with a fan housing 25 in which is arranged a suitable fan. The fan housing 25 has an outlet duct 26 formed therewith which is open to the atmosphere, as shown in Figure 2, or connected to a flow duct 27, as illustrated in Figures 7 and 8.

Water from the reservoir 11 can be raised by a pump (not shown) through a tube 23 to be discharged through a rotary distributor 29 in the top of the chamber 17 above the grills 18 therein and capable of being rotated by the liquid flowing therethrough and discharging through orifices 39 in each radial arm 31 thereof, the orifices 39 being angularly disposed therein as indicated in Figure 6. Each of the grills 18 has a foraminous casing 32. thereon designed to aid in retaining water deposited by the rotary distributor 29 which, when aerated by passing air through the chamber 17, as indicated by the arrows in Figures 2, 3, 8 and 9, will cool the air conduits forming the grills 18 and lower the temperature of the air passing therethrough.

To further cool the air as it is drawn into the chamber 17 through the louvered slots 14, one or more evaporative pads 33 are arranged in the chamber 17 about the series of grills 18 and which are saturated by the distributor member 29. Air is drawn through the chamber 17 by a suction type of fan 34 mounted on the partition 15 in the chamber 16 and communicating with the lower chamber 17 through an opening 35 in the partition 15. The damp air is conducted to the atmosphere through a suitable discharge duct 36, as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, or delivered through a flow duct 37, concentrically surrounding the flow duct 27, to the attic or other discharge point, as desired.

,It is an important function of the invention to produce cooled air which is comparatively dry, and while evaporative principles are employed to lower the temperatures of the airdirected into the room, none of the cooling agent is allowed to enter. Air used in cooling the room is drawn into the housing 19 from the outside of the building and is conducted through the tubular conduits form: ing the grills 18 where it is maintained in a substantially dry state which cannot'be'accomplished through the use of the conventional evaporative cooler. V

The conditioned air, as it passes out of the fan housing 25, is partially deflected by a baffle 33 over a refrigerating coil 39 in the bottom of the duct 27. The coil 39 is connected through tubes 46 to a compressor'in a casing at supported on one side of the housing It as shown in Figures 3, 7 and 9, and as the temperature of the air is reduced it will yield up certain percentages of its moisture content to be drained into the reservoir 11 through a drain tube 42.

The invention is designed for use as a heating unit for conditioning the air in winter, and this is accomplished by the use of a heating element 43 which can be applied to the bottom of the housing 19 beneath the reservoir 11 to heat the Water therein by which the grills 18 can be heated so that air circulated therethrough will take up the heat to bedistributed in the room. This feature of the invention, however, is optional.

This invention can be modified, in the'manner shown in Figures l1, l2, l3 and 14, to adapt the same to use as an automobile cooler, and this structure embodies a housing 44 which also has a horizontal partition 45 therein defining upper and lower chambers 46 and 47, the latter being substantially larger. The arrangement of air conduits therein comprises an inlet tube 43 whose ends 49 extend at right-angles from the ends 50 of the housing 44. The tube 48 is horizontally arranged and has a plurality of spacedvertical tubes 51 connected thereinto at their upper ends, their lower portions 52 being bent at right angles to extend horizontally near the bottom of the chamber 47. where their opposite ends are connected into another larger tube 53 arranged transversely to the tubes V A series of vertical spaced outlet tubes 54 are connected into the top of the tube 53 and extend upwardly in the chamber 47 to be connected into an outlet manifold tube 55 whose opposite ends 56 are curved upwardly and toward each other, as shown in Figures 13 and 14, and enter a pair of fan housings 57 which have exhaust conduits 5 5 connected thereto and extending from the housing 44. motor 5? situated therebetween, as shown in Figure 14.

A liquid, such as a brine solution is deposited in the chamber 37 so that the latter is completely filled and the conduits therein are submerged in the liquid. A refrigerating coil 69 is installed in the chamber 47 to occupy the U-shaped space formed by the conduits 51 and 54 and has a connection with a compressor 61 attached to one end of the housing 44, as shown in Figures 11 and 14. The coil 6i) refrigerates the liquid in the chamber 47 which in turn prevents the coil from frosting and cools the conduits so that air flowing therethrough, under the influence of the fans in the housings 57, is maintained at a low temperature. Condensates flow into the bottom of the chamber 47 and are discharged through a float controlled port 63 which is normally closed by a valve 64.

Manif stly, the structure herein shown and described is capable of certain changes and modifications, by persons skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and intent of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. In an air conditioner device having a housing and a reservoir therein, in combination, an inlet manifold in said housing having a plurality of vertical laterally spaced air inlet tubes connected therein, a plurality of air discharge tubes opposing said inlet tubes and connected thereto by' horizontally arranged and vertically spaced air flow tubes, an discharge manifold connecting the upper ends of said air discharge tubes, a discharge duct connected to said discharge manifold and having a suction fan therein, means in said housing for circulating a cooling liquid over said tubes therein, a refirigerating coil in said discharge duct for reducing the moisture content of air passing therethrough, andmeans comprising absorbent pads in said housingfor cooling said tubes by evaporation.

2. In an airconditioning apparatus, in combination with a housing and a reservoir therein for a cooling liquid, a series of spaced parallel vertical air inlet tubes in said housing having a common inlet duct connected to their upper ends, an opposing series of air outlet tubes, a plurality of vertically spaced horizontal tubes connecting said inlet and outlet tubes, a common outlet duct connected to the upper ends of said outlet tubes, a fan arranged in said outlet duct drawing air into and through said ,tubes from said inlet duct, a foraminous casing enclosing each unit of said series of tubes, means in said housing for circulating liquid from said reservoir over said tubes, means for circulating air through said housing and about said tubes and discharge the same to the atmosphere, and a dehumidifying element in said outlet duct for minimizing the moisture content of the air passing theretlirough from said tubes. 7

3. In an air conditioning apparatus having a housing and a liquid reservoir in said housing, in combination, a plurality of vertically arranged and parallel air flow grids in said housing, each comprising vertical air inlet and outlet'tubes connected by a plurality of horizontal flow tubes, an "air inlet duct connected to the upper ends of said inlet tubes, an outlet duct communicating with the t upper ends of said outlet tubes and having a fan therein ior'impelling air through said grids, means in said hou smg' fordistributing liquid from said reservoir'over said grids, means circulating atmospheric air through said housing in the presence or" said grids, and means in said outlet duct for controlling the'mo-isture content of the cooled air .dischargedthrough said outlet duct.

4}. In an air conditioner'device having a housing and a a The fans in the housings 57 are operated by a reservoir for a liquid in said housing, in combination, a series of air flow grids arranged in parallel spaced relationship in said housing, each comprising inlet and outlet conduits connected by a plurality of parallel tubes, an air inlet duct having connection with the said inlet conduits, an outlet duct connected to said outlet conduits, a fan in said oulet duct impelling air through said grids and discharging the same through said outlet duct, means in said housing for distributing liquid from said reservoir over said grids, a dehumidifying element in said outlet duct in the presence of a portion of the air discharged therethrough, and means circulating air through said housing about said grids to aid in. cooling the same.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Merralls June 1, 1909 Worth-en Mar. 2, 1920 Shipley Oct. 9, 1928 Donaldson July 23, 1929 Roe Apr. 17, 1934 Bach Sept. 21, 1937 Grady Aug. 29, 1939 Grady Aug. 29, 1939 Helbing Oct. 1, 1940 Bennett Apr. 22, 1941 Kelley Aug. 23, 1949 

